This national outlet expects a few Clemson stars to rack up significant accolades at the end of the upcoming season.
CBS Sports predicted the winner of each major college football award in 2025, and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, T.J. Parker and Peter Woods are all projected to take home top hardware.
Klubnik is predicted to win the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback.
“There’s plenty of great quarterbacks to choose from in 2025, but Klubnik has some distinct advantages,” CBS Sports’ Will Backus wrote. “He’s more mobile than other veterans like LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier — adding another avenue of production. He’s also more experienced than young guns like Texas’ Arch Manning, Florida’s DJ Lagway or South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers. Klubnik also benefits from an excellent supporting class, highlighted by the ACC’s top returning receiver in Antonio Williams, and it seems like he’s really clicking with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who can engineer an explosive passing attack.”
Parker, meanwhile, is projected to nab the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the top defender in college football.
“The Nagurski award often goes to players along the defensive front,” Backus wrote. “Few are better there than Parker — the nation’s top returning sack artist after getting to the quarterback 12 times last season. He could face some stiff competition from young studs like South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart and Texas’ Colin Simmons, but Parker’s proven production gives him the edge (pun intended) at this point.”
As for Woods, he’s predicted to haul in the Outland Trophy as the country’s top interior lineman.
“It helps Parker’s case that he’ll have a star like Woods playing alongside him,” Backus wrote. “Woods is the type of defensive tackle that routinely commands double teams, freeing up other players on the defense to wreak havoc in the backfield. But Woods has plenty of upside of his own thanks to his freakish athleticism, burst and movement skills from the interior.. He tallied 8.5 tackles for loss and three sacks last season.”
Klubnik, Parker and Woods are the only ACC players that CBS Sports predicted to receive any of the major awards in 2025. As for college football’s most prestigious individual honor, CBS Sports projected Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith to win the Heisman Trophy.